Police cadaver dogs found the body of 17-month-old Zyia Turner more than 12 hours after her family reported her missing.
The family called the death an accident.
An uncle who was baby-sitting Zyia and several other children, said
the girl wandered away sometime around 3:30 p.m. Friday after while he was in
another room, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Bridget Elam, the girl's grandmother, said she was doing some July 4th shopping when the uncle called and asked if she knew where the toddler was.“What do you mean you can’t find her,” Elam told the uncle, according to the Free Press.
“The last I saw her, she was sitting on the dining room floor eating cereal. That’s when everything went to a panic.” The girl's father, Emmanuel Turner, 25, rushed home from a local park and the family called police.
Authorities issued an amber alert throughout the city.
The girl's mother, Erica James, initially told news crews that she
feared the girl had been kidnapped.
“I just, I just want my baby...I just wish whoever had her would
bring her back," James said to local station WXYZ on Friday
afternoon.
Footage of the house broadcast on WXYZ the next day showed piles of
clothes, toys and furniture strewn across the bedroom and the closet where Zyia
was found.
Nearly a dozen family members live at the home, according to local
reports.
An autopsy was completed, but police were waiting to release the
cause of death until after a toxicology screening, which could take weeks.
The uncle, who was not identified, was arrested, and the rest of
the family was cooperating, cops said.
"This is an ongoing investigation and individuals are being
questioned by the Detroit Police Department’s Homicide Investigators," police
said in a release.
Elam told WXYZ she suspected the girl wandered into the closet and
was smothered when some clothes fell on her.
“My grandkids… they’re blaming themselves, like we didn’t search
the area,” she said. "But you can’t put that on you. It was a bad accident. It
was a very bad accident that we just have to deal with.”
This is sad all the way around!
ReplyDeleteR.I.P. little Zyia ....... sigh......
twelve people and no one could fold those clothes
ReplyDeleteThat explanation is too damn THIN for me.
ReplyDeleteMurderer in the house??????????????????
Grandma maybe coming from a good place in her heart. I have a little one as well and I would not want anyone telling me that its noone's fault and "we just have to deal with it". No way it would be that simple and easy for me. It's truly sad.
ReplyDeleteGod rest her soul. I find it suspicious that the uncle left the room and she just wandered off. How long was uncle gone for. If clothes had simply fallen on her, she would have cried out. A thorough investigation needs to be conducted.
ReplyDeleteSomething about the story isn't right...
ReplyDeleteIts sad but its hard to believe that clothes just fell on her look like those clothes been there on the floor
ReplyDeleteI hate how quick you ppl are to judge their story if the clothes are heavy on her, she could've cried out, but who would've heard it? To quickly accuse the uncle if he's watching more than one kid how do you expect him to just watch after her they didn't know where she was they had no idea she was suffocating. The grandmother is right, those CHILDREN should not blame themselves because of a mistake;yes, it was a tragic mistake but that's a reason to be supportive.
ReplyDeleteThey aren't CHILDREN though, they are ADULTS! Even if you are poor and uneducated it is ridiculous to live in such filth! The story does not add up.
ReplyDelete